The invention relates generally to vehicle seating, and more specifically, to a position adjustment assembly configured to adjust a position of a seat relative to a vehicle interior.
Vehicle seating typically includes a seat bottom and a seat back to support a driver or passenger. In certain seating configurations, both the seat bottom and seat back include a rigid chassis, cushions, and a fabric covering. The cushions are coupled to the rigid chassis, and the fabric covering is disposed about the assembly. The rigid chassis of the seat bottom serves to support the weight (i.e., vertical load) of the passenger, and couples the seat to a floor of the vehicle. In certain configurations, the seat bottom chassis is coupled to a carriage configured to facilitate longitudinal movement of the vehicle seating along a track. In addition, the seat back chassis may be configured to pivot relative to the seat bottom chassis to enable a passenger to adjust the seat back to a desired position.
Certain vehicle seating systems include a position adjustment assembly configured to adjust a longitudinal position of a seat relative to a vehicle interior. Certain position adjustment assemblies include an upper rail mounted to the vehicle seat, and a lower rail mounted to the floor of the vehicle interior. The upper rail is engaged with the lower rail, and configured to translate relative to the lower rail to adjust the longitudinal position of the seat. In certain configurations, the position adjustment assembly also includes a latch coupled to the upper rail. The latch includes multiple teeth configured to engage windows of the lower rail to selectively block longitudinal movement of the seat.
In certain configurations, the latch extends from an arm configured to urge the latch into engagement. In such configurations, the arm may be constructed from a resilient material, such as spring steel. Unfortunately, during a high g-force event, a contact force between the teeth and the respective windows may induce the arm to deform, thereby varying an angle of the teeth relative to the windows. As a result, the teeth may slip out of the respective windows, thereby enabling the upper rail to translate relative to the lower rail, and enabling the seat to move relative to the vehicle interior.